The best exercise of all time is by far the dead lift. The reason for this is because the majority of people these days live a sedentary life style – meaning they spend the most of their waking life sitting down. The most common places are in behind a desk, in front of a computer, driving, and eating. What is often unsaid is that this causes muscle irregularity and imbalances. The act of sitting down stretches your hamstrings, glutes and lower back (your posterior chain) and shortens your hip flexors. Your body then gets used to contracting and tightening your hip flexors and relaxing your glutes. This makes our glutes weak and our hip flexors and quadriceps comparatively strong. We then become what’s called quad dominant, and the major symptom of being quad dominant is that we walk on our heels, not our toes. This causes two things. First, it makes you slow. And second, it causes all sorts of injuries in your feet, knees, and hips. The way to cure this imbalance is to start tightening and strengthening your posterior chain and becoming glute dominant. The dead lift is best exercise for the job – as it works all those muscles. Further, the excessive sitting and hunching forward that driving and desk work requires, moves your shoulders forward and your elbows bent for long periods of time. This stretches your upper back and shortens your chest and stretches your tri-ceps and shortens your bi-ceps. The dead lift counters this as well, as it works out your upper back.

Correct Form: If you are new to this exercise start with light weight and master good form.

Keep your back straight at all costs, if you don’t you will have back pain. Ways to help you keep your back straight are to stick your butt up towards the ceiling and to keep your eyes slightly up and not look down at the weight.